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Batteries... Grrr.

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Ponyperformance8

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Few things frustrate me more than when a simple job takes much more time than it should because of a poor design on the part of a manufacturer.

Long story short, OEM battery died. Ordered new "Mighty Max Battery" with the common cheap terminals that include rectangular nuts and nothing to hold them inside of the terminals, same as many other batteries in there.

AS many have noticed this design is less than desireable due to the way our batteries sit in the bikes, but the OEM Yuasa YTZ12S costs almost $200 from your bike shop and 130 ish on Amazon.

So after trying everything from Superglue to stuffing foam earplugs in the terminals to try to make it work, I'm over it, resigned to buy the Yuasa until !

Behold:

Motocross YTZ12S AGM Maintenance Free Battery - Free Shipping: BatteryMart.com

Come to find out that "Motocross" Is Yuasa's aftermarket brand name, same battery, same terminals, same construction, less frustration (hopefully) at a more reasonable price.

Will post an update once it is in, should be the middle of the week, then I am back on the road again...
 
I always go for the Motocross brand battery when available. It's the exact same Yuasa battery but with a different label and a lower price.

image.jpg
 
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Those loose nuts are very frustrating. I've had best luck inserting some foam backing rod underneath them, then carefully lining up the nut with the threaded hole above. It sounds like you basically did this with foam earplugs, but if they aren't perfectly cylindrical (instead they are usually tapered) then that may not work as well.

The foam rod I use is like this. "caulk saver". Frost King E/O 3/8 in. x 20 ft. Caulk Saver-C21H - The Home Depot
 
Krampus said:
Not familiar with Motocross brand. Will just say this: I routinely get 7 years out of YUASA batteries, either due to excellent quality on their part or anal maintenance on my part, but they last. I believe that they are still made stateside, so I try to support home industries.
Click to expand...

This is my experience, too. I got 8 years from a Yuasa YTX14-BS 12Ah in my Vespa 250 (liquid cooled, fuel injected).
 
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Lead acid batteries are delicate things, and most of us totally ignore how to maintain them... Their lifetime depends on environmental temperatures, riding distances / time and other factors. The same battery may last just a year or five to seven years (the maximum expected lifetime, with an average of three to four).

Keeping a lead acid battery always charged will give us its maximum lifetime but it's not always possible. Short daily rides for example will never fully charge it, and the battery will die by hard sulfation. You may also add parasitic drain from various electronics...

Also hot climates doesn't help because of the quicker grid corrosion...


The cost of the battery is not so high. Just avoid the OEM channels. They overprice everything. You can find the same battery much cheaper in a battery shop...

Anyway, any battery with the same specs will do the job...

It will be nice if you monitor your new battery and take a look at Yuasa's Technical Manual, to avoid any surprises in the future...
 
On the subject of battery life:

I generally expect 8 years out of my Yuasa/Motocross Goldwing battery. The first one was pulled from the bike still in working order at 8 or 9 years, then ran a couple more years in a lawn mower. It still had not died after 11-12 years; I just thought it was time to move on. I think cold winter storage temperatures extend the life.

I ran some lead acid deep cycle house batteries in my motorhome for 19 years. I will admit their reserve capacity was quite low when I replaced them.

My NCs battery is 4 years old and still strong.
 
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ste7ios said:
Lead acid batteries are delicate things, and most of us totally ignore how to maintain them... Their lifetime depends on environmental temperatures, riding distances / time and other factors. The same battery may last just a year or five to seven years (the maximum expected lifetime, with an average of three to four).

Keeping a lead acid battery always charged will give us its maximum lifetime but it's not always possible. Short daily rides for example will never fully charge it, and the battery will die by hard sulfation. You may also add parasitic drain from various electronics...

Also hot climates doesn't help because of the quicker grid corrosion...


The cost of the battery is not so high. Just avoid the OEM channels. They overprice everything. You can find the same battery much cheaper in a battery shop...

Anyway, any battery with the same specs will do the job...

It will be nice if you monitor your new battery and take a look at Yuasa's Technical Manual, to avoid any surprises in the future...
Click to expand...

Awesome advice, I guess I need to invest in a battery tender afterall... I have about 3 years and 13,000 miles..
 
I use my tender once a week to make sure the battery is fully charged. I seldom do a ride that is less than 20 miles but sometimes I won't ride for a week or two if the weather is bad. The tender was something like 30 bucks and once you install the connector to the battery it's really simple to plug in the charger. I expect my battery to last the life of the motorcycle for my ownership period as I will probably get a new bike after 5 years or so.
 
When I did lived in AZ that was easy, I rode Every day... Never thought the twice per week riding I do now in FL would have that much of an effect. I am wondering now if I have a good battery and it just needs a real charge. :confused:
 
Krampus said:
Interesting. The website says "Celebrating Over 30 Years of U.S.A. MFG", Laureldale, PA: Yuasa Batteries
Click to expand...

Hmm, that is interesting.. Well my Yuasa battery says Made in Japan right on the front of it..

It turns out we were both right and both wrong... They have US manufacturing as well as overseas check it out: Yuasa Batteries -
 
My Yuasa was short-lived bee shall see how long the replacement Yuasa lasts. I use a battery tender of sorts; I ride the motorcycle most days, year-round. ;-)
 
Perhaps try placing a high quality electrical tape ( 3M comes to mind) on the outboard side of the securing cable nut housing ; this will keep the nut from falling out of the housing ; hope I understood your initial post and this helps.
 
I left my key on for a day or so. The battery is dead as a door nail of course. Will this damage anything electrical? Is the battery toast? Thanks.
 
No, it will not damage anything electrical, but you've to fully charge it with a charger / maintainer as soon as possible because the battery will loose some of its capacity because of sulfation. Sulfation kills a lead acid battery...

(I don't propose jump starting because it's always a bad idea. Vehicles' charging systems are build to maintain battery charge. Not fully charge them...).
 
Adlibgib said:
... The battery is dead as a door nail... ....Is the battery toast?....
Click to expand...

If battery was discharged below 10.5 V (1.75 V per cell), by manufacturer definition (and physics) battery is as good as dead, even if it appears to function after recharging. They're not going to tell you for how long you still may use it. It can be charged but never to full capacity (maybe 60%). Depends how it would be used it may last weeks or months. Irreversible damage was already done to cell plates (something like heart attack is doing damage to heart muscle tissue).
 
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